Public EV charging stations

Operating a public car charging station is now easier than ever. The platform allows you to update and monitor EV chargers from your office.

Public electric vehicle charging stations

Many electric car owners use their electric vehicle for their daily commute and can easily go to work and back home without the need for charging.

However, when an EV is used a lot, e.g. as a taxi, by sales representatives who visit clients multiple time throughout the day or on long-distance trips, electric cars need to charge on the go and ideally very fast. But how long does it take to charge an electric car?

Public Fast Charging (Level 3)

Fast charging for EVs (Level 3 charging) is normally done in Direct Current (DC) to allow for a much quicker charge of the car battery.

Due to DC fast chargers being a different set of electrical equipment, the charging stations themselves are more complex and more expensive. They draw more electricity from the grid which also affects the electricity supply at the location and installation costs. The installation of a single DC fast charger can be as high as AUD 50,000 which is not a small investment.

Therefore, fast chargers are often installed by governments or large companies that have an interest in providing charging stations for their customers. In Queensland, the QLD government together with Energy Queensland have installed a ‘superhighway’ along the coast and in NSW, NRMA is investing heavily to provide EV charging to their members and the public.

Public Slow Charging (Level 2)

Level 2 charging for electric cars is slower due to Alternating Current (AC) current being used. Depending on the electricity supply and the Electric Vehicle Service Equipment (EVSE), the speed ranges from 3-22kW. Some cars are also limited in how much electricity they can take regardless of how fast the charging station is.

These EVSE chargers can usually be found in public spaces like street charging, beach carparks, shopping centres and other locations that are accessible publicly and are often installed by councils or businesses.

Managing the access and payment is an important feature. Charging the driver for electricity allows the operator to recover the installation cost over time. More importantly, the charging station operator is able to monitor how often and how long the charger is used which can help make the decision to install additional chargers or relocate it to a more suitable location if it isn’t used frequently.

Choosing the right charger and location for the specific use case is important to get the most out of the investment in the asset. Contact us if you would like to learn more about EV charging.